Sunni / Shia get-together – is this a beginning of the end or an end of the beginning?

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Tuesday March 06, 2007 11:59 by MichaelY - iawm

Iranian and Saudi rulers meet and kiss

As violence in Iraq continues, with 9 US soldiers and about 40 Iraqis killed in a single day yesterday, political development in the region require careful examination.

Kiss - in

The Iranian President and King Abdalla, in their meeting in Riyadh, agreed to try their utmost so as to prevent a further rupture in the Islamic world as well as use their influence as to contain the armed confrontations in the Middle East. Perhaps the most interesting result of the meeting, however, has been their agreement that the political unity of Iraq is of fundamental importance and that the Sunni / Shia confrontation should henceforth cease.

The two men, and their close advisors, spent more than eight hours discussing Iraq, Palestine and the situation in Lebanon. This fact alone is of crucial importance as it marks a first step towards an Islamic alignment likely to introduce a new chapter in the Middle East.

It comes as the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has ‘redirected’ itself bringing Saudi Arabia and Israel into a new strategic embrace – largely because see Iran as an existential threat. The Saudis, out of the blue, have now been involved in direct talks with the Israelis, brought the warring Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas together, and have now hosted Ahmedinajad! “We cannot contain the Shiite gains in Iraq”, seems to be the thinking, but we can contain it elsewhere”!!

The Saudi elite understands well that its exclusive relationship with Washington is of little use if the Shiite axis increases its political control around the Gulf. This background becomes even more crucial as this coming Saturday (March 10th) the Iraqi administration has called for a top level conference, including the Syrians, the Iranians, and, of course, the Americans. And there is no denying that in Iraq itself, Saudi influence has been instrumental in shifting US attention and military focus away from the Sunnis and onto the Shiite resistance.

Teheran is cautious

Another crucial piece of info was made public yesterday, Monday April 5th, by Mohamed Ali Husseini, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “ We are in the process of examining American proposals”, Husseini said, “….brought to us by a number of intermediaries that have to do with the security situation in Iraq”!! There was no clarification whether these ‘proposals’ were in the context of the planned Baghdad Conference or not.

Iran’s position on the Conference is that it will participate if the process “..was to benefit the Iraqi people”. In other words, Iran has not as yet announced its participation!! “We will let you soon, in the near future….” Ali Husseini told journalists on Monday evening.

Syria’s stance on the Baghdad Conference, on the other hand, is very positive. According to sources close to the Syrian President Assad, “the US has finally admitted that there are forces in the region that cannot be ignored any further”!

Iran is thinking hard